CF downs Shea in penalties
PAWTUCKET – As a rule, Central Falls High head coach Carl Africo prefers not to place an underclassman, particularly a freshman, in any type of individual-based pressure situation.
Case in point: A penaltykick scenario, or shootout.
“I try to not to put them in the first five (kickers) because I think it should be the seniors who should win it or lose it for themselves,” he stated.
Africo did and didn’t bend his own rules on Wednesday night, when his 10th-seeded Warriors ended up in a 2-2 deadlock with seventh-ranked rival Shea in a R.I. Division I preliminary round game at Max Read Field after 80 regulation minutes and two-five minute extra sessions.
He went with all upperclassmen in his initial five shootout booters, but opted to place frosh Juan Monsalve Blandon in the second slot (or seventh overall) in the back quintet. Turns out, Blandon became a hero.
He crushed a line drive over Shea junior keeper Ednilson Tavares to break a 4-4 stalemate in PKs, then watched as his own netminder, senior Calvin Maradiaga, made a diving stab (to his left) of junior Isnaba Namusse’s hard grounder.
With the stop, the Warriors nailed down the stunning 2-1 victory (5-4 in the shootout), and clinched a berth in a tourney quarterfinal at second-ranked La Salle at 7 p.m., Friday.
“I wasn’t thinking anything before my shot, and I wasn’t nervous,” Blandon stated through a translator. “When it went in, I thought, ‘We win, thank God!’”
Offered Africo, who’s squad improved to 6-8-2 overall: “Two weeks ago, we beat Shea, 3-2, in, like, the final minute, and that was a really tough game. So was the first time we played in the (championship) final of the Blackstone Valley Cup back in the (late) summer. I thought we were going to a shootout in that one, but they ended up scoring and won it, 2-1, in the last minute.
“That’s just how these two teams always play; it’s been that way for the last four years,” he added. “We’re probably played each other 12 times the past three years, and it always comes down to a goal or a PK (situation).
“You know, it’s just a shame that somebody had to lose. Both teams played with heart and intensity, but that’s nothing new anyway. That’s the way it always is.”
The Raiders’ campaign closed at 7-7-2 overall.
In the penalty-kick phase, junior Esteban Osorio tucked a grounder inside the right post to give the Warriors the 1-0 cushion, but Helder Gomes Goncalves reciprocated. Two rotations later, Adilson DaSilva scorched one home for CF, but SHS senior Devon Silva chipped a liner over the crossbar.
CF senior Erickson Fernandes lifted his club to a 4-2 advantage in the shootout, but Shea’s Prince Sawyer and Kevin Alves managed to tie it up at 4-4 following a superb save on senior David Restrepo’s attempt toward the right post.
“I chose David to go in the fifth position because we practiced PKs (Tuesday), and he was an assassin out there,” Africo said. “I know the Shea goalie, Eddie, loved to make a decision as to either side (o propel his body) before the shot, and I told our guys about that. I said, ‘Let him go first, see where he is in the box and put it where he’s not.’
“Everybody did that except our assassin,” he added. “I put him fifth because he didn’t miss in practice, but that’s OK. We pulled it out.”
The Warriors snatched an early cushion just 12:05 into the contest when junior Nehemias Sandoval planted a feed from DaSilva past Tavares (nine saves). The two combatants battled back and forth, and the visitors outshot their hosts, 6-3, in the opening session.
The Raiders finally knotted it with 16:27 left in regulation; junior Simon Carmona smoked a one-timer off a defender past Maradiaga (12 stops) for the equalizer.
Central Falls 1 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 1 – 2 Shea 0–1–0–0–0 –1 First half: CF – Nehemias Sandoval (Adilson DaSilva) 12:05. Second half: S – Simon Carmona (una.) 63:33. First OT: No scoring. Second OT: No scoring. Shootout: CF goals – Esteban Osorio, Keisse Pina, DaSilva, Erickson Fernandes, Juan Monsalve Blandon; Shea goals – Helder Gomes Goncalves, Frank Barrios, Prince Sawyer, Kevin Alves. Shots on goal: Central Falls 15, Shea 17. Goalie saves: Calvin Maradiaga (CF) 12, Ednilson